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White House accuses Russia of slaughtering civilians in Syria

Syrians try to identify bodies at a make-shift morgue at a hospital in Douma following Syrian government bombardments on the besieged rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta on March 4, 2018. Photo: HAMZA AL-AJWEH / AFP / Getty Images

The Trump administration on Sunday lambasted Russia's involvement in a deadly ongoing military operation in Eastern Ghouta, Syria, saying the country has dropped bombs — at "least 20 daily" between February 24 and 28 — on innocent civilians.

After repeatedly delaying the passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2401, which demanded a 30-day cessation of hostilities across Syria, Russia has gone on to ignore its terms and to kill innocent civilians under the false auspices of counterterrorism operations. This is the same combination of lies and indiscriminate force that Russia and the Syrian regime used to isolate and destroy Aleppo in 2016, where thousands of civilians were killed.

— White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.

The backdrop: The AP reports that thousands of Syrians have been fleeing from the rebel-held Damascus suburb as the Assad regime, with support from allied militias, attempts to take control. More than 600 civilians have been killed since the operation started two weeks ago, per the AP.

The White House statement comes after a UN resolution late last month intended to impose a 30-day cease-fire to allow humanitarian aid deliveries in parts of Eastern Ghouta.

No civilians have left the region through a humanitarian corridor Russia and Syria recently set up, with the Kremlin accusing rebels of preventing people from leaving, the AP reports. Insurgents have denied that claim.

The U.N. plans to deliver supplies and food to 70,000 people in the region starting on Monday after an approval from the government, per the AP.

Full White House statement:

The United States condemns the ongoing military offensive that the Assad regime, backed by Russia and Iran, is perpetrating against the people of Eastern Ghouta. After repeatedly delaying the passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2401, which demanded a 30-day cessation of hostilities across Syria, Russia has gone on to ignore its terms and to kill innocent civilians under the false auspices of counterterrorism operations. This is the same combination of lies and indiscriminate force that Russia and the Syrian regime used to isolate and destroy Aleppo in 2016, where thousands of civilians were killed.

Between February 24 and 28, Russian military aircraft conducted at least 20 daily bombing missions in Damascus and Eastern Ghouta from Humaymim Airfield in northwest Syria. Pro-regime forces must immediately cease targeting medical infrastructure and civilians as part of the brutal campaign in Eastern Ghouta. The civilized world must not tolerate the Assad regime’s continued use of chemical weapons. The Assad regime, along with its backers in Moscow and Tehran, should adhere to UNSCR 2401, cease hostilities in and around Eastern Ghouta, and allow unfettered delivery of humanitarian aid to the nearly 400,000 innocent civilians in critical need.